Introduction:
As
we know many church father’s involved in mission but of different views on
their prospective thinking and leading for the congregation. That’s why the
church today in many places is conflicted about the Missions. Distinction was
argued for the terms “Mission”, “Missions” and “mission dei”.
In the book called “Introducing the Missional Church: What it is, Why it
Matters, by Roxburgh and Boren explained that the terms “Missional” cannot
be defined.” [1]
Some argue that the American Church is becoming inward focused, moving
away from the Local and overseas missions in both sending qualified mission people
and support. That’s why many Christians were avoiding sharing their faith at
home as well as at the other society. [2]
Therefore,
a survey of missions was begins from the Old Testament through Abraham and
continued in the New Testaments by the Apostles.
Calvin
Missionary Methods and his Theology:
Calvin's missionary method
was to explain the Scriptures systematically. He would preach almost every day
in the morning and in the afternoon, meditated the Old Testament during the
week and the New Testament on Sundays. Calvin’s also spent his time in
formulating the truth of the Bible in the orderly way. He also preached without
notes directly from the Hebrew or the Greek. And he sometime preached in a
secret place as well as to the mass. He sometime preached the gospel in agreement
with the situation of the places. He didn’t spend his time in unnecessarily.
Calvin’s sometimes spent his time on writing books and studies the church
father writing. During this time he wrote his first book called “Institutes
of the Christian Religion” in 1536. [3]
His expositions were written down by scribes.
The great deed of
Calvin’s was in Geneva. Here he plans to make Geneva as a city of God. He
labours very hard in his mission that he achieved great honours in Geneva. And
in his mission theology he said that one must be saved through by faith in
Christ (predestination) but not of works. He defined that all the works is for
the Glory of God not of our good works. He said “Though we are not all called to the ministry of Pastor,
Christian. Teacher and Writer, we are all called by God to share our faith
(witness) with those who are not Christians. [4]
His teaching was adopted as the fundamental teaching of faith and to study of
the Bible. He also said that the church organization was permanent split, that
was not their intention; and it is far more important that the church of God be
scriptural than that it be united under one organization. [5]
This is how his valuable mission theology came into being. He also kept up
a huge correspondence. Up to 1553 much of his time was spent working at
reformation in Geneva. Thereafter up until the time of his death in 1564 aged
54 he concentrated on the evangelisation of France.
Theology belief in
Predestination:
According to him the
predestination or the doctrine of the elect defined that salvation was
predestined by God for a particular person before he was born or birth. There’s
no element of human choice or free will in the salvation. [6] If
you are not part of it then you will not be saved. He also said that “no one
who wishes to be thought religious dares simply deny predestination, by which
God adopt some to hope of life, and sentences other to eternal death.” [7] He also
belief in the absolute power and the supremacy of God’s over all the creatures.
He said that man was so depraved that it could only approach God through having
faith in Christ, not through mass and pilgrimage. [8]
Calvin’s Mission
Statement:
Calvin’s the Presbyter is the great founder of Presbyterian Church congregation and of persons who affirmed the Lordship of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scripture. We are bonded together by God's love and grace as a family in Jesus Christ, responsible for bringing and taking the Good News to the World. We gather to worship God and to take care of and support one another in Christian faith and in our personal life. We spread out here and there to serve God for his glory, individually and corporately, by proclaiming the Word and sharing Christ's peace in an uneasy world. [9]
Calvin’s the Presbyter is the great founder of Presbyterian Church congregation and of persons who affirmed the Lordship of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scripture. We are bonded together by God's love and grace as a family in Jesus Christ, responsible for bringing and taking the Good News to the World. We gather to worship God and to take care of and support one another in Christian faith and in our personal life. We spread out here and there to serve God for his glory, individually and corporately, by proclaiming the Word and sharing Christ's peace in an uneasy world. [9]
Missionaries sent into
France:
It is widely believed that the Reformers of the sixteenth
century were not involved in missionary activity. [10]
That is simply not the case. John Calvin was involved in the work of sending
missionaries to Brazil. Doors into Brazil did not open at that time and those
involved in the attempt lost their lives. However the mission field is not only
lands far off. Indeed France constituted a mission field. [11]
Unlike in the present day in
France, which is almost entirely secular in outlook, the France of the 16th
century was religious but dominated by the priesthood of the Roman Catholic
Church. Persecution by the priests against evangelicals was violent. It could
cost your life to actively spread the evangelical faith. However within the
Roman Church a very considerable Biblical movement had taken place through the
secret reading of books by Luther as well as through the teaching of a
well-known Catholic, Lefèvre d' Etaples. A great spiritual harvest was there to
be reaped. [12]
From 1555 to 1562 we know
for sure that 88 preachers were sent from Geneva into France. Of these, nine
laid down their lives in martyrs. There may have been more than 88. Historical
research is in a weak position by the fact that everything in that period was
done in a mysterious way for safety reasons. Also we must account for many
short term missions into the France.
Those who were ordained
and sent out as church planters were exceptionally gifted men. Some of them
were from noble families and most were from a well-educated upper middle class
background in France. Very few were from artisan origin and some of them from a
peasant background. With the exception of Pierre Viret who was a Swiss, (he
became the pastor of the largest church of 8,000 communicants at Nimes), these
church planting missionaries originated from almost every province of France. [13]
This fact helps in explaining how it was that almost all regions of France were
introduced with the gospel. [14]
Of these missionaries
those who were not already accredited pastors were obliged to conform to exact
standards set up by Calvin. The moral life of the candidate, his theological
integrity and his preaching ability were subject to careful examination. With
regard to moral discipline a system was established by which the pastors were
responsible to each other. There was an exacting code listing offences that
were not to be tolerated in a minister. Offences in money, dishonesty or sexual
misconduct meant instant dismissal. [15]
Calvin gave Theology training:
All Calvin's students had to be fully proficient in Latin,
Hebrew and Greek, in order to be thoroughly proficient in line by line exegesis
of the Scriptures. They were required to be trained in Church History and
Systematic Theology. Character training was paramount. These pastors had to
face the reality of martyrdom. Only when Calvin judged a man to possess the
necessary and staying power would be sent into France to preach and plant
churches. Each church began by a group gathering in a home, and then out of
that a fully disciplined church would be constituted. Such was termed ‘a
dressed church’.
In 1555 there was only one
'dressed church'. Seven years later, in 1562, there were 2150 such churches!
This represents growth of extraordinary proportions. Eventually there were over
two million Protestant church members out of a French population of twenty
million. This multiplication came in spite of fierce persecution. For instance
in 1572, 70,000 Protestants lost their lives. The church order used was
Presbyterian. [16]
There were 29 national
synods from about 1562 to 1685 when persecution forced most of the believers to
leave France. The real character of John Calvin is revealed in his
letter-writing which was very extensive and pastoral in character. Besides
personal letters he also wrote to the French churches as a whole. For instance
in November 1559 he wrote: “Persecutions are the real battles of Christians, to
test the constancy and firmness of their faith; we should hold in high esteem
the blood of the martyrs shed for a testimony to the truth.” [17]
Conclusion:
Even though regardless of the motif
one’s mission theology might prefer, it is important that one have a mission
theology that leads us to live sent, on biblical mission. We should consider ourselves
that God’s mission is assigned upon conversion; it applies to the missionaries,
church leaders, and layperson alike. This paper may only offers a brief survey
of the vast material in mission theology of Calvin’s, most of which is worth
further looking at. However, one most eventually leave the imaginary and engage
in the practical, as did the many missionaries of the Bible.
References:
[1]. Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction
to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England:
Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 674.
[2].
Ibid, p-674
[3].
B.K. Kuiper. The Church in History. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Comp, 1951)p-191
[5]. B. K. Kuiper. The
Church in History. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Comp, 1951)p-202
http//www.enotes.com/topics/renaissance/john-calvin
5. Calvin's Institutes. The two volumes,
edited by John T McNeil and translated by Ford Lewis Battles,
form part of the Library of Christian
Classics. 1,500 pages, Westminster Press, USA.
[11].
Calvin's
Institutes. The
two volumes, edited by John T McNeil and translated by Ford Lewis Battles,
form part of the Library of Christian
Classics. 1,500 pages, Westminster Press, USA.
[12]. John Calvin's enterprise in the
evangelization of France is described by Jean-Marc Berthoud in a carefully
researched treatise of 53 pages, Westminster Conference Papers .for 1992 obtainable
from John Harris, 8 Back Knowl Road, Mirfield, WF14 9SA, UK £4.00 including
postage. It is from this treatise that I have extracted the material about
France.
Comp.
1951) p-190-192
[14].
Ibid, p-190-193
[15]. John Calvin,
Translated by John King, Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol 1., Genesis
(Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 128.
[16].
B. K.
Kuiper, The Church in History. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing
Comp. 1951)p-149-152
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